Met een aantal mensen gesproken die vrijwilligerswerk willen gaan doen. Ik heb ze een aantal tips gegeven en ze aangeraden om via de organisatie vrijwilligwereldwijd naar het buitenland te gaan. Hopelijk gaan ze wat met mijn tips doen en zullen ze een mooie ervaring beleven als vrijwilliger in het buitenland. Ik ben daarom ook verder gegaan met vrijwilligerswerk in Nederland, want ik merk dat je met kleine dingen al veel kunt bijdragen aan de samenleving, ook in Nederland.

I interviewed Trung, he is a former student electrotechnique at Can Tho university and he is 22 years old. I met him during one of the volunteerprojects: charity hospital. He and other Vietnamese volunteers prepare dinner for the patients in the hospital, all the ingredients are donated by local people. The Dutch volunteers help preparing the dinner, but also teach English to some of the Vietnamese volunteers, including Chung.

Hai Trung, can I ask you some questions about your life in Can Tho? 
What do you do when you are not helping at the charity hospital?

I like to play sports, like fitness and badminton. I also play soccer with some friends in the evening sometimes, do you want to play soccer again with the other volunteers? (some of the dutch volunteers played a soccer game against some friends of chung). When I am not playing sports I like to drink coffee with some of my friends (typical vietnamese ice-coffee). In the evening I often go out for dinner with some friends to have some grilled fish or chicken.

Sounds like a good life, what about your study?

I am not a student now, but I like to study more about electrotechnique next year. But I hope to have enough money to study next year.

I hope that you can study again next year. Where do you live now?

I live with a friend, Chau, in a small student room (±7 square meters). We share a bathroom and kitchen with several other students/my friends. (I visited Trung and his friends once, they share a room including the bed, a small desk and their clothes are not stored in a closet. They cooked for the dutch volunteers and liked to show us their place)

It is almost Christmas now, how do you celebrate Christmas in Vietnam?

Christmas is not a big holiday in Vietnam, we celebrate Tet holiday in February. At christmas day I meet with some friends to have coffee first and in the evening we have dinner on the street. During Tet holiday I will go to the countryside, to my family, to celebrate Tet holiday. 

Do you have any brothers or sisters?

Yes, I have two younger brothers (14 and 18 years old) and one older sister of 24 years old. I will meet them during Tet holiday, they all live at the countryside.

Do you like to work at the charity hospital?

I like it, but I also like to learn English from the volunteers at the charity hospital. I am not so good in English but I hope to learn it soon. 

Thanks for the interview Trung, I hope that your English knowledge will increase and wish you all the best with your studies.